Work Text:
"Hong~"
Hong chuckled as On passed him. It was the perfect place to hide. As he was about to leave, Hong stumbled upon something, making a sound.
"Aha!"
Hong stiffened when he heard On's footsteps rapidly approaching. He was about to run, but then stopped when he saw what he had tripped over before.
'a doll?'
Hong took the doll and just forgot On who was getting closer. Checking it, and for some reason he smiled and felt happy.
===
Beacrox is in a good mood.
The war is over and the peace that everyone wants has come. Although his grudges against Arm had not completely gone away, Beacrox was relieved that they had been wiped out.
There were few of them who were still on the run, but most of them were weak and could easily be caught.
He also don't know how his father dan his 'servant' contract with the Henituse Household would end, but Ron still the legal patriarch of the Molan Household, so he would be busy for a while.
Ron left the underworld business and the Hope and Adventure-Loving inn to Beacrox while he took care of the necessities.
So here he is, in the kitchen, wrestling with knives and pans; made some orders from the explorers who stopped by.
The bandits serving the guests as usual. As for the two kittens...
His young master-nim allowed On and Hong to join Ron and Beacrox because they wanted to be taught assassination skills. But now, his father is busy with household needs and leaves On and Hong to Beacrox.
Beacrox sighed internally, thinking that it would be troublesome taking care of the inn, as well as the bandits and kittens.
Even so, Beacrox's lips twitched every time he heard the noise and laughter from the next room.
'Ah never mind'
Beacrox smiled slightly as the vegetables in the pot came to a boil.
===
"Beacrox!"
On and Hong stood at the kitchen entrance, staring at Beacrox with a 'may we come in' look.
Beacrox gave a small nod, then On and Hong enter with big smiles.
"Look what we found!"
Hong held up a shabby doll, which made Beacrox almost reflexively clicked his tongue.
"Hmm?"
On tilted his head, before gasping and lightly elbowing Hong who was still brandishing his doll. Hong turned his head, met On's gaze, then gasped as well.
"oh, uh, sorry. We'll clean it later."
Beacrox nodded.
"Then why did you show it to me?"
"Hmmn, because we have to ask your permission?"
Beacrox raised his eyebrows.
"And we also ask for your help in keeping it for a while."
"Yeah! Some bandits want to go to the mountain to see a rare beetle! We'll be gone for a while!"
'go to the mountains? In working hours?'
Beacrox was certain that it was the bandits' 'secret plan' he had heard of last night.
But On and Hong innocently expose it to the chef who is supposed to punish the bandits if they get caught.
'children'
Beacrox nodded slowly, his knife-holding hand pointing at the corner of the table. (Cale would probably pass out if Beacrox treated him like that.)
But the kittens consider it as a normal thing. Hong put the doll down, then they ran outside shouting 'thank you'.
Beacrox looked at the shabby doll for a moment, snorted, then covered it with a white handkerchief.
'they will clean it themselves later.'
Then he continued to cook.
===
"ay, my best friend~"
Beacrox sighed, then turned to look at the blue-haired man with a bottle of beer in his hand.
"What are you doing here?"
"aigoo, you're really cold to your own allies~"
"The war is over and there are no more allies."
Beacrox pointed the knife at Bud, who raised his hand with a big smile.
"woah, hey~, I'm here to ask for help."
"What kind of help do you want?"
Bud shook the beer bottle in his hand.
"Help me open this."
'Are you kidding?'
Beacrox snorted and put down the knife, pushing Bud's back away from the kitchen.
"I'll chop you up if you mess up at my inn. Again."
"huhu.. As expected of the son of the Molan patriarch-"
Bud suddenly stopped walking. Beacrox paused for a moment, then pushed his back again.
"Go, you bastard."
"No, wait!"
Bud removed Beacrox's hand from his back and peered behind Beacrox into the kitchen.
"What? You want extra beer? It's in another room."
"No, no!"
Beacrox frowned slightly in disgust as Bud sniffed the air. After doing that for a while, Bud glared at Beacrox.
"Are you- crazy? Did you try an experiment with food poisoning?"
"The hell are you talking about."
Beacrox's annoyed expression makes Bud shut up.
'really, this brat.'
Beacrox is pissed off now. The Merchenary King who was 'not working' today came and disturb him, again, then chatted nonsense.
Where's Glenn? He should have dragged his best friend away by now.
Bud scratched his cheek awkwardly after seeing Beacrox so offended.
"The thing is, I smell it..."
"what smell?"
'did he insult the cleanliness of the kitchen?'
"That, the smell of death."
"Hmm?"
'What?'
Beacrox looked at Bud like he was crazy, but Bud shrugged.
"Whether you believe it or not, there's a smell like that in your kitchen."
Beacrox sighed.
"Yes yes, I believe it."
"You believe it? So there's really a death in your kitchen?!"
"Yes. If you're not leave soon."
"aigoo"
Bud groaned as Beacrox kicked him away.
As they insulted each other, the handkerchief on Hong's shabby doll fell off by itself.
===
First oddity.
The bandits screamed loudly, sending Bud and Beacrox running toward the dining room. When they arrived, the place was already a complete mess.
Two tables fell to the side. Food, plates and forks, all scattered on the floor.
Beacrox wanted to scream in frustration when he saw the dirty floor with water and food crumbs, but he couldn't when he saw the bandits at that moment.
They look... Afraid? Shock?
Well, they had been afraid of Beacrox from the start, but it seemed that right now, their fear was not directed at Beacrox.
The Bandits looked at the overturned table with pale faces and stiffened bodies. Some of the visitors also looked frightened.
Bud looked at Beacrox as if asking for an explanation.
'the heck happened?'
Beacrox shrugged slightly, then walked over to one of the bandits.
"hey."
The bandit flinched when Beacrox tapped him on the shoulder.
"ah- ah, Chef-nim! Th-it's not what you think!"
"explain to me."
The bandit lowered his head as Beacrox's gaze turned cold.
"That, we heard a satan's whisper."
"Hmm?"
'satan?'
Bud behind them had a 'dafak?' look while Beacrox also stared at the bandit as if he was crazy.
"I-I swear! There was a voice! Then suddenly the table was lifted and the saucers flew! That voice sounded so horrible! Oh chef-nim, I can't believe I'm going to say this, but please protect us!"
Beacrox frowned. He glanced at the other bandits, who turned out to have the same hopeful eyes as the previous bandits.
'What is this?'
It was as if they had seen the devil and asked the pious for protection.
"Stop joking around and clean up everything."
Beacrox walked away, leaving the bandits who were starting to make a fuss.
"chef-nim doesn't believe us! We have to take care of this ourselves!"
"Should we contact the temple?"
"so that we'll be laughed at because they don't believe us either? No, thanks".
"This is a mandate! A mandate from a god!"
"oh, god! Protect me!"
"If only dragon-nim were here—"
Bud had followed Beacrox from the moment he left the room, forgetting about the beer bottle at the start of the conversation.
"Are they that crazy?"
"Yes. And why are you still following me?"
"Don't know."
Beacrox stopped walking, then turned to Bud who was now looking at him seriously.
"My friend, it seems your workers are not lying."
"How do you know?"
"Because they seem honest? After all, if it was a mana, I would have sensed it from the start."
Bud and Beacrox looked at each other, then lowered their heads in thought.
===
Second oddity.
Glenn finally picked up Bud.
"Thanks for taking care of him."
Glenn smiled brightly as he carried Bud by the collar. Bud has a poker face when being dragged like that.
"Just make sure he doesn't escape."
"sure."
Glenn was about to turn away when he stopped and looked behind Beacrox, then smiled faintly.
"Well, after all, Raon-nim is still a child."
Beacrox frowned. He looked back, finding no one there.
'why is everyone talking nonsense today?'
Even though Glenn was the same 'species' as Bud, at least he was more rational. Beacrox glanced at Bud in Glenn's grip, who also looked confused.
"What are you talking about?"
"hu? Isn't that Raon-nim?"
Glenn pointed, Beacrox and Bud following his direction.
It's in the corner of the table.
A shabby doll covered in a handkerchief.
It hands were moving as if someone was playing with it.
Even though,
'there's nobody there!'
Bud gasped.
'Wait a minute... That doll and the smell of death...'
"Hey, Beacrox! Can I check it?"
Beacrox, who was starting to feel doubtful, followed Bud's words and took Hong's shabby doll. (while wearing gloves, of course.)
Bud, Beacrox and Glenn looked closely at the doll. They both lowered their heads, staring at it curiously.
Well, if you look closely, the doll does look a bit... Weird.
It's not a princess doll or a prince on horseback.
Rather, it is a round-headed creature who wears shabby cloth clothes. Two button eyes with a smile from the messy knitting of the threads made it look terrifying.
Glenn gulped after looking at the doll for quite a while.
"Um... Bud?"
"yes?"
"could it be?"
"be?"
"be what?"
Beacrox and Bud turned to Glenn at the same time.
“Yeah, you know. This doll could be 'cursed'. Who else can move it without mana?. An ancient power of wind like young master Cale's is too brute to play with dolls. Elementals wouldn't be interested in things like dolls either.”
Bud nodded, starting to believe in Glenn's explanation. Moreover, coupled with the smell of death that he had smelled earlier. Oh, and also the statement of the Bandit who heard the satan's voice.
'it must be the voice of a cursed creature.'
Only Beacrox who was shook his head.
"That can't be."
"Why?"
"Because Hong who's took this doll. He's not a reckless kid picking up a cursed object."
Bud and Glenn fell silent at Beacrox's protest.
"umn, yeah, I guess you're right."
"That's right, kittens are very smart."
Beacrox nodded in agreement. A faint sense of pride rose in his heart as he added, "After all, who would curse a doll?"
"that's right."
Bud and Glenn stared at the doll with wide eyes.
Seconds later, Bud and Glenn ran out of the inn screeching and dragging each other.
===
Third oddity.
Beacrox felt guilty watching them run wildly.
"Ah yes.. They don't see it"
They didn't notice that Beacrox was pressing a small button on the back of the doll. The button is what makes the doll talk.
Beacrox stared intently at the doll, then placed it back on the corner of the table.
'stupid'
Why did he need to think about such nonsensical things as they said?
Beacrox sighed.
So many distractions for the kitchen these days. He stretched his arms slightly, then muttered in a low voice.
"Which order will I do first?"
"How about a death order?"
Beacrox widened his eyes. He glanced stiffly at the shabby doll.
Just like him, the shabby doll also turned to Beacrox slowly, as if making a crackling sound. It head fell to the side with a demonic smile from a terrible tangle of threads.
"Yes~?"
In the evening, Beacrox had to apologize to the kittens because their dolls had been lost and some grass had been pulled out to burn something in the backyard.
As he convinced the kittens, Beacrox didn't see it.
He didn't see how the black smoke condensed and formed a human-like being.
He didn't see how the black smoke spread like bullets across the sky.
He didn't see how the black smoke seemed to have a grin.
===
"Beacrox, you're not coming?"
Ron looked at Beacrox with a frown.
He did not look well. Since Ron returned from Molan's residence, Beacrox had looked like that.
Eye bags and pale face, Beacrox nodded languidly.
"Just give my greetings to young master."
Ron sighed, then walked out of the inn with the two kittens.
"Take care of your health, nya!"
"Make sure to eat healthy food, nya!"
The kittens yelled before running after Ron. These past few days, Beacrox had a sleeping trouble. Every time On and Hong brought something home, Beacrox would check and look at it closely, before sighing and handing it back.
They want to know why...